To destroy writers’ block which sometimes affects creative people of all media from artists to writers, musicians to inventors – there are numerous books to consult – or –

You can destroy that creative block like this –

1. Write down every idea that comes when it comes.

If you want more of a thing, it is said by psychology that you must encourage and support that thing in the consciousness and subconscious. By writing down each idea that happens creatively when it occurs, that action tells a part of you that you honor it and hold it dear. Then there will be more.

Just write them down. I use 3×5 cards, post-it notes, notebooks and scraps of paper if nothing else can be found. Personally, I like having a date on the top left corner and sometimes, I’ll sign it with my initials – sometimes, it is written down with the date and that’s all. Then it is set aside. No judgement made – judging the idea, concept, thought, solution, possibility has no purpose, so don’t bother. The point is to have more ideas, not less. Judging each idea as to whether it is worth writing down or has merit or is possible to do or not – simply buggers the possible ideas that could flow beyond that one. And, don’t show it off to anyone that will do that to it either. Not worthwhile.

3. Remember, these processes are yours – they aren’t for showing off –

Others have astounding abilities to thwart, contrive, contribute, analyze, play the devil’s advocate when he didn’t ask to be represented, be condescending and hurtful, be playful or smug, and to put down almost anything they haven’t thought of themselves. There doesn’t have to be a reason for any of this – depends on their mood, their day, their own thoughts about something else which doesn’t have anything to do with it – could even be their shopping list, and whatever happens to hit them about the idea at the time. It isn’t worth including them in the process, if you want to have more ideas flowing and creative possibilities. The reasons are endless, but if you want to show off to get kudos and good feelings – don’t show them these ever.

4. Write down thoughts when they get in the way –

Occasionally journaling gets ideas about feelings out of the way, but sometimes it takes giving a moment to write out that interaction or series of events that disturbed or was confusing just to move them out of the mind’s field of vision. These can be noted on a card, slip of paper or handy spiral notebook without getting it into some full-fledged journal or blog writing, or blog about it, or stick it in the damn journal or whatever gets it out of the way. And, talk about it to someone whether they give any care or not – that makes it gone, processes the feelings, sorts it out, gets rid of it cluttering the mind.

5. When in doubt, write it out –

There is something to be said for problem solving being the root of all or nearly all creativity. Find a problem, a difficulty, a confusion, a snafu – note it on a 3×5 card or elsewhere. I used to keep a list of problems to solve and continued to add to the list, now they end up on 3×5 cards and post it notes which then go into a group together. It doesn’t have to be problems you have, or that someone you know has – it can be world problems, something seen on the news, in the newspaper or simply noted about something. These can stimulate answers, solutions, novel approaches, probable outcomes for stories, elements of real living added into stories or blogs, and they can encourage new ways of thinking about old things in inventive problem-solving ways.

6. Every time these ideas come, write them down –

It has to be worth it to get out of bed once all snuggly and write down that idea or solution or novel approach to something that floated through your mind just before sleep – or in the shower or bath – or on the train or bus. That tells your subconscious that these are important and worth creating more of. And later, there will be more and better and more elegant solutions, the more you do it.

7. Other things worthy of note are worth writing down too –

I use this as an example – when there is an exercise in stupidity on air in the news, it worth writing down. Not only do I get a good laugh about it later, there are solutions and new thoughts that it generates. That includes the numerous stories of people who stayed in their cars when it was too cold out and they shouldn’t have been driving at all, the ones who crept across flooded streets only to be carried off downstream and rescued and people who walked into something because they were texting on their phones. Okay, not all of them are laughable then or later – but writing them down reminds me of solutions that could be generated to the problem, as well as including those events in written stories that are supporting a reflection of real life today.

8. Facts noted are writing materials of great ideas –

When the television first started, its only real purpose was seen as entertainment and to some extent that continues to be true. However, today it is filled with ideas, solutions, education, facts, news, and content about extraordinary to ordinary supported with a great deal of effort to convey facts contextually. In fact, the internet has that as well. It is easy to think, I can look that up later – but if you write it down now, that set of facts seen on cable or on the internet, in the news or on some other show – can form the basis of new ideas and generate new solutions never before considered. I write down the quick fact and try to get the channel and show along with the date noted so if I need more info about it later I can track it to where it was found or broadcast or said.

9. Don’t decide how to use stuff, ideas included –

One of my 3×5 cards says, “The Bible has been translated into 2,000 languages. acc to H2 show top 100 things changed world” with the date 12-26-13. This reminds me of the time that I said to someone in Georgia that I can speak 78 languages badly and they said, “are there that many languages in the world?” But it also reminds me that I don’t know how many languages there are and never knew that the Bible or anything else could be translated into 2,000 of them which I need to look up and learn more about. It also reminds me that apps have been made which translate languages on the fly where any android phone, ipad, laptop or iphone can make the translations immediately and I wonder how well they do. Many languages have words that mean several things and don’t translate directly – does it capture that? Do the Bible translations capture that effectively? Is there a better way to convey those context differences to accurately depict the meaning? The meaning according to whom? What do I know about that? Are they problems to be solved with it to do it in better ways? Could a computer ever do that effectively or is that a people thing? So, that one fact opens doors to creative thought because I wrote it down and have it sitting here in my cards. None of those thoughts and streams of ideas would have happened if I had seen the show and said, oh that’s interesting, I can look that up later without writing it down.

10. I don’t know what’s valuable – none of us do –

That is a fact which I have to accept in order to succeed in accomplishing anything creatively, constructively, inventively, intuitively, brilliantly or not so much – but at least to create something with it regardless. You can sit with an idea looking to make it brilliant and valuable and worthwhile to hell freezes over without ever getting anywhere with it unfortunately. That isn’t what makes it valuable and worthwhile as an idea or as something worthy of putting time and effort into. Removing the concept that I could possibly know its value or that anyone else would either – gives a freedom of creating that nothing else can.

It allows the entire universe of everything that has ever been done, everything that could’ve been done and everything that might ever be done to be opened to me and to you, if the simple measure of grabbing it, writing it down, doing something with it happens. And, every single time the process if done – yes, IF DONE – makes it easier, smoother, more extensive and more brilliant in each moment beyond it. I like that about it. The writers’ block or creative block is suddenly distanced and thoughts fill the page or the canvas or as music in the air opening new ways to think, to perceive, to consider and to enjoy – to whatever audience eventually experiences the final products from all of it. Strangely not taught in art schools, colleges, universities and specialty creative fields – but all of the betweens in the creative product are worthwhile too because each part can stimulate a different line of reasoning, problem solving and process that will go somewhere else and create something else new and rewarding as well.